Katrina Rennie

Katrina Rennie 16 years, Meadowbank, Craigavon, Co Armagh, shot dead in a mobile shop in Craigavon on 28 March 1991. Two other people were killed in the attack, Eileen Duffy 19 years, and Brian Frizzell 29 years. 

Katrina worked in the mobile shop as an assistant to Eileen Duffy. The small shop was situated in the Drumbeg housing estate, a nationalist’s area in Craigavon. It was just after 8.30pm when a van parked near the shop and a masked man carrying a handgun alighted and approached the shop. A number of children were inside the shop when the gunman entered. One young girl talking to Eileen Duffy was immediately grabbed by the hair by the gunman and ordered to kneel on the ground just outside the shop, moments later he re-entered and opened fired at point blank range on Katrina and Eileen, shooting both girls in the head killing them instantly. As the gunman was emerging from the shop he met Brian Frizzell, who was about to enter the shop. The gunman pushed Mr Frizzell to the ground, ordering him to lie there, before shooting him in the head. Seconds before he was murdered Mr Frizzell had urged the young girl trailed from the shop by the hair to run away, which she did. 

The van used by the gunman was found later burned out on the Mountainview estate. It had been hijacked from the Old Warren estate in Lisburn town. The weapon used by the gunman, a Browning 9mm pistol, was part of the huge haul imported into the North of Ireland from South Africa in 1987 by unionist/loyalist paramilitaries with the knowledge and the assistance of various British intelligence forces.

The Protestant Action Force said they carried out the killing. The PAF was a name used by unionist paramilitary death squads, mainly in rural areas, with links to the UVF. The group said it would regard, what it called 'republican businesses and their staff as a legitimate targets' until IRA killings ceased. And those businesses serving republican terrorists or Sinn Fein members would also be targets. They also said the attack was in retaliation for the shooting of a policeman's widow in Derry earlier in March. 

The owner of the shop speaking about the shooting to the press said: 'There was no question he (the gunman) knew who he was firing at-it was up close- he went in looking (anyone) and just shot who was ever there.' The owner also said a van similar to that used may have been seen near his home earlier in the evening. He said he and his brother were told by the RUC that telephone death threats had been received directed at them and that their details were in the hands of unionist paramilitaries. The shop owner said he was also harassed on several occasions by the security forces, particularly the Ulster Defence Regiment. 'The UDR made a point of coming into the van and trying to get served. I wasn't ignorant but I told them I was unable to serve them because of the area.' The owner said he had settled a harassment claim against the RUC out of court around three years ago. He said he had never been charged with any offences apart from a minor driving one. 

The killings were the second multiple killings carried out by the same UVF gang, based in Portadown, in less than a month. On 3 March 1991 they also shot dead four men in Cappagh, Co. Tyrone. During the late 1980s and 1990s the Portadown based UVF gang claimed many innocent lives while under the command of Billy Wright, known in the media as ‘King Rat.’ Wright had been a very active Crown force agent over a number of years until members of the INLA shot him him dead in Long Kesh prison in December 1997. Being a Crown force agent and leader of the UVF in mid-Ulster Wright could depend on his handlers’ assistance not only by directly providing intelligence on targeted victims and weapons, but also by ensuring an area where an attack was to take place was cleared of any ‘Security force’ presence beforehand and that follow-up operations were delayed or misdirected. 

In April 1991 two men from Lisburn were charged in connection with the murders. They were said to have hijacked the van used by the gunman. The two men claimed at their trial that they were unaware what the vehicle was to be used for. The murder charges were dismissed during the trial and both were convicted on hijacking charges and each given a five-year prison term. 

In 1992 another man, James Harper, was charged with the murders at the mobile shop and with the attempted murder of several others in separated incidents. He was not the gunman but the driver of the van. He was also charged with blackmailing a local factory manager and with the theft of a substantial amount of money. 

When Harper’s trial began in November 1994, Vicky Ahitty joined him in the dock. Ahitty had been arrested after the killings of Desmond Rogers, Fergus Magee, and John Lavery as they left work outside Lurgan in November 1991. Ahitty was found in possession of weapons used in several killings in Co. Armagh and Co. Tyrone. Ahitty was accused of the murder of an uncle and nephew in Moy, Co Tyrone. Kevin McKearney and his uncle John McKearney died after being shot in their butchers shop in The Square, Moy on 3 January 1992. Ahitty was said to have brought the guns used in the double murder some distance towards Moy and passed them on to others. One of the guns used in the murder at the Moy, a Browning pistol, was also used to kill the three victims at the mobile shop. 

Ahitty was acquitted of the murders at Moy and also of attempted murder after he admitted conspiracy to murder. He was sentenced to a total of ten years. 

During the case against Harper it was revealed in court that he admitted his role in the killings of Ms Duffy, Ms Rennie, and Mr Frizzell while being questioned after his arrest. In his confession Harper told his interviewers that after the killings the gunman had radioed the success of the murder mission to accomplices by using the term "Tatie bread'. Harper told his interrogators the name of the gunman who carried out the mobile shop killings and his own role in other attempted killings and blackmailing. He also revealed that ‘King Rat’ had recruited him into the UVF. Harper was found guilty and given life imprisonment. After sentencing he taunted the families of the three victims, shouting ‘I’ll see you in 20 years’ and ‘no problem,’ and laughing loudly at them as he was led away. 

Speaking to reporters after the trial an emotional Mrs Duffy said she "couldn't describe" what her life had been like since her daughter was shot dead while serving in a mobile shop in Craigavon's Drumbeg estate four years ago. "He (Harper) hasn't shown any remorse for what he's done and it is awful that they haven't got any of the rest of those involved. They know who these people are and they are walking about and the police are not able to touch them there is no justice in that.